EVSC's 'equity schools' set to open | VIDEO

Some get leeway to boost academic records

Howard Roosa gets ready for the start of a new school year with a different approach.

DENNY SIMMONS / Courier &amp; Press
Howard Roosa School first-grade and special education teachers meet Wednesday in Teresa Higgins' first-grade classroom to come up with individual game plans for their incoming students. They are, clockwise from left, Linda Roesch, Higgins, Anne Haug, Cassie Helfrich, Robin Reddington and Alan Wilderman. Named an "equity school," Howard Roosa will have new leeway on curriculum.

DENNY SIMMONS / Courier &amp; Press
Tim Hughes, a carpenter with the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corp., holds up his end of one of more than a dozen student-made murals being placed on a wall at Howard Roosa School on Tuesday morning.

They're being called "equity schools."

But when it comes to rules, teaching approaches, staff setups and more, Howard Roosa, Delaware and McGary schools are taking pride in being unequal.

The three schools — two of which open for a new academic year today — have been given considerable power by the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corp. to do education their own way.

That could mean tweaking a dress code, lengthening a school year or a school day, or putting a new academic program in place without needing clearance from EVSC's central office.

Students at Delaware and Howard Roosa, which have grades K-5, and McGary (grades 6-8) have struggled for several years to pass the state's ISTEP exam. All three schools have high student poverty rates.

Giving the schools more autonomy is a new approach to reversing their academic fortunes, according to officials with the EVSC and the Evansville Teachers Association. The school district and the union collaborated on the equity schools initiative.

"Our philosophy all along has been that teachers in the building know best the students and families they are working with," said Keith Gambill, president of the union. "To bring in a canned program from another district — while the program may have merit — if it's not needed in that building, the success is not going to be replicated."

The equity schools program strives to "give staff power to improve their building and see what direction they need," Gambill said.

Howard Roosa and Delaware — where the school year starts today — each added 15 instructional days to their calendars, going from 180 days to 195.

Additionally, the calendars at both buildings include five teacher work days that will be dedicated to analyzing student test scores.

"That will give our teachers a change to look at scores and develop teaching plans to meet the needs of individual students," said Brynn Kardash, the new principal of Howard Roosa.

In previous years, that kind of work has been condensed into after-school hours, or it has necessitated hiring substitute teachers, said Todd Slagle, principal at Delaware.

Delaware also has lengthened its school day by about a half-hour. Teachers will use the added time to work with students on science curriculum — such as Lego engineering — along with Spanish instruction.

Students at all three schools will use Dell netbooks this year. The same model computer will be used in EVSC high schools. Teachers also will integrate the iPod Touch into instruction.

But unlike high school students, the younger students will not take the netbooks home with them after the school day.

Today's children become familiar with technology at young ages, and, "It needs to be here (at school)," Kardash said.

Staff at the equity schools have been preparing for the new year for months. Teachers attended mandatory training sessions throughout last school year, and more training was held this summer.

Themes of the sessions included data analysis, building "teacher leaders" and how to best present expectations to students, said Deborah Hartz, the EVSC's professional development coach for equity schools.

Learning by doing

Indiana curriculum standards will still be taught at the equity schools, Hartz said, but the schools are being given more freedom on how to deliver the instruction.

But since the approach is so new, staff at Delaware, Howard Roosa and McGary in some cases will learn as they go.

Matt Jacques' story reflects the program philosophy.

Jacques will work during the coming year at Delaware as a Title I instructor with emphasis on math and technology. He will work with different classes on electronic math lessons.

"There's a lot of good math websites," said Jacques, who has worked for the EVSC in information technology since 2000. He recently obtained his teaching license.

Jacques' role at Delaware wasn't decided by the EVSC's central office — it was Delaware school administrators who shaped his position.

"I'll be traveling room to room," Jacques said. "Over the course of one semester, I want to see every student at every grade level, K-5.

Ambition and ingenuity are being encouraged at all of the equity schools, Jacques said. "They're counting on (staff) to be self-starters and learn on the fly. A lot of things are our judgment on what we do."

McGary Middle School opens Wednesday — the same day as all other EVSC schools. But McGary's school year will last until June 9, after other schools in the district close for the summer.

All McGary students will spend their first week of school in their homerooms and work on what Principal Mary Schweizer called a "learning portfolio."

That process also will involve each student setting academic and personal goals for the year.

"Once we learn how they learn, we will match them with the appropriate teachers," Schweizer said.

McGary students also will work on issues such as character education and respecting diversity.

"They will know the staff, and the staff will get to know them very well," Schweizer said.